Three more Turkish sites enter UNESCO’s temporary list

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

Three more Turkish sites have been included in UNESCO’s tentative list of world heritage, bringing the total number of Turkish properties on the list up to 72, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism stated on May 6.

The archaeological site of Assos in northwestern Çanakkale province, Ayvalık industrial landscape in northwestern province of Balıkesir and Ivriz cultural landscape in central Konya were placed on the tentative list on April 15, according to a statement issued by the ministry.      

Culture and Tourism Minister Nabi Avcı said Turkey had a total of 16 assets on the World Heritage List, ranking 17th among all countries in the world.      

The minister said the 41st World Heritage Committee session would be held in the Polish city of Krakow in July, during which the committee would consider including the archaeological site of Aphrodisias in western province of Aydın in the World Heritage List, after having been on the tentative list since February 2009.      

The application for the archaeological site of Göbeklitepe in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa, which has been on the tentative list since April 2011, will be up for discussion in the 2018 meeting, Avci said, adding that the ministry believes the two sites will be inscribed in the list.